EVERYTHING IS MYSELF

Atman, or Self, is "I", the very essence of Brahman, the entirety of Existence, the Absolute, or the Ultimate Reality. Everything is myself, or All as Self; euphemisms for Atman is one with Paramatman, or Self with Supreme Self. This propounds that the world we perceive, which is filled with names and forms, is actually an illusion known as Maya. The more one moves outward, the deeper the chances of entrapment under the veil of Maya. Perception through sensual organs is the illusionary role of Maya that keeps everything under its veil of illusion. A practitioner of Self needs Self-experiencing to realise Self as well as eye consciousness to visualise the real and unreal. Ashtavakra Gita teaches that Self is pure, unbound consciousness, and that liberation is achieved by recognising this inherent oneness, thereby transcending the distractions of the phenomenal world and the insatiable desires of the mind. This perceptive idea dissolves the limitation of duality emanating from phenomenal limitations of time, space and causation by highlighting the key role given to ego and ignorance sprouting from the body-mind-intellect system. By unveiling the ego of ignorance, it facilitates one to experience a state of inner peace, joy, and freedom from the limitations of the phenomenal world. Ashtavakra Gita asserts the non-duality of Atman and Brahman, or Cosmic Self. Self is the infinitude of infinity, imperishable, complete in every respect, unattached, pure consciousness, the ultimate reality, and Absolute Existence. This single, unchanging consciousness encompasses the entire cosmic sphere. The fundamental principle is that the entire universe, including all beings and objects, is a manifestation of Brahman, or Cosmic Self, one indivisible, imperishable, Absolute Existence. This realisation liberates a person from the illusion of being a separate individual within the body, mind, and intellect complex and instead recognises them as inseparable aspects of cosmic consciousness. It sees the unity of all existence as an appearance within one's own Atmic awareness, akin to a bubble arising from the sea. It is what Ashtavakra Gita (18.9) states: that considerations like 'I am this' or 'I am not this' are finished for the practitioner who has gone silent, realising 'Everything is myself' or 'All as Self'.

1. Outline

Everything is myself, or 'All as Self', as the name indicates, and exists in the world without being affected by worldliness. It represents a cosmo-organic relationship characterised by the integral inseparability of Atman (Self) and Paramatman (Supreme Self). It is a way of experiencing Sat-Chit-Anand (Existence-Consciousness-Bliss) while recognising Atman and Jivatman as both the beginning and end of every life process. It is not merely a future aspiration but something to be experienced in this very life. I am Sat-Chit-Anand, asserts the Tejobindu Upanishad (3.11). It states that I embody only Sat, Ananda, and Chit, which represent unconditioned, pure, and eternal bliss. I am Sachchidananda, who is eternal, enlightened, and pure. This Self is also Satyam-Jñānam-Anantam Brahma or Truth-Knowledge-Infinity, is a clarion remark by Taittirya Upaniṣad (2.1.1). This Self, according to Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (3.9.28), is "Vijnanam Anandam Brahma", or Knowledge, Bliss, and Brahman. In the Brihadaranyaka, the phrase "Vijnanam Anandam Brahma" refers to the nature of Brahman, the ultimate reality, as the supreme goal for both the wealth-bestower and the realised individual. This, in the commentary of Adi Shankaracharya, posits that Brahman is not subject to birth but is ever-present, and this ultimate realisation constitutes the highest state, a union of knowledge and bliss. Correspondingly, the Srimad Bhagavad Gita (13.23) teaches that the true Atman, or Self, is pure, formless consciousness, the witness of all, which is inherently free and unconditioned and the very essence of Brahman (Cosmic Self, or Absolute Existence). Within the body also resides the Supreme Lord. He is said to be the Witness, the Permitter, the Supporter, the Transcendental Enjoyer, the ultimate Controller, and the Paramātmā (Supreme Soul). Bhagavad Gita (13.14-27) continues to say that Everywhere are His hands and feet, eyes, heads, and faces. His ears, too, are in all places, for He pervades everything in the universe. Although He perceives all sense-objects, He is still devoid of the senses. He is unattached to everything, and yet He is the sustainer of all. Although He is without attributes, He is the enjoyer of the three modes of material nature. He exists both outside and inside all living beings, including those that move and those that do not. He is subtle, and hence, He is incomprehensible. He is very far, but He is also very near. He is indivisible, yet He appears to be divided among living beings. Know the Supreme Entity to be the Sustainer, Annihilator, and Creator of all beings.

The entire universe, Ashtavakra Gita purports, is not separate from Self, but rather it is Self itself. It teaches individuals to realise this by detaching from their senses, the material world, and the illusory "doer" ego. By determining that you are not the changing body, mind, or universe, but rather the unchanging, underlying awareness, you achieve instant liberation and supreme peace. Ashtavakra Gita (18.1-2) pronounces praise be to that by the awareness of which delusion itself becomes dream-like, to that which is pure happiness, peace and light. One may get all sorts of pleasure by the acquisition of various objects of enjoyment, but one cannot be happy except by the renunciation of everything. How can one find happiness, as stated in the Ashtavakra Gita (18.3-4), when they are tormented by the intense pain of desire for material things that require attention, without experiencing the soothing nectar of peace?This very existence is imagination. There is nothing in reality. There is no non-being for natures that know how to distinguish being from non-being.

2. Scriptures 

 A being can never become a non-being, material cannot transform into non-material, a phenomenon cannot be equated with a noumenon, and a person in bondage can never attain freedom. Freedom and bliss are always accompanied by dispassion, discipline, discrimination, detachment, and desirelessness. The scriptures clearly and categorically affirm this understanding. Ashtavakra Gita (15.4-6): unequivocally, you are pure awareness and witness of all things, nothing less and nothing more. You are not your body. Your body is not you. You are not the doer. You are not the enjoyer. You are without expectation, Free. Attachment and aversion are of the mind. The mind is never yours. You are thought-free, changeless, and of the nature of awareness. You are free of its turmoil. You are thought-free, changeless, and of the nature of awareness. Be happy. Self is in all beings, and all beings are in Self. Know you are free, free of "I", free of "mine". Be happy. In the same vein, Ashtavakra Gita (15.7-9) says your nature is the consciousness in which the whole world wells up, like waves in the sea. This is your true nature, without any doubt, so remain undisturbed. Have faith; don’t let yourself be deluded in this, as you are yourself, whose very nature is knowledge and beyond all limitations. The body invested with the senses stands still and comes and goes. You yourself have neither come nor gone, so why bother about them? You are, as the Ashtavakra Gita (18.10-24) highlights, bereft of distinctions, discriminations, obligations, attachments, delusions and desires. You are free from all these, whether of the dominion of heaven or beggary, gain or loss, life among men or in the forest, no religion, wealth, or sensuality, and free from the pairs of opposites such as 'I have done this' and 'I have not done that'. Such is the state of a living liberated one that he is beyond mental stillness, has no longing or desire and finds no knowledge in what he sees. Such a living, liberated one sees but doesn't see, is pleased but not pleased, suffers but doesn't sense pain, and feels no distinction nor any distraction. Such a person is with a steady mind, free from doubt, and holds no thought of liberation. Whether seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, or eating, he remains at ease in whatever comes his way (Ashtavakra Gita, 18.47).

3. Remarks 

 Ashtavakra Gita puts it succinctly: you are awareness, and in you the world arises like waves in the sea. So free yourself from the fever of the world (Ashtavakra Gita, 15.7). You are pure. Nothing touches you. What is there to renounce? Let it all go, the body and the mind. Let yourself dissolve (Ashtavakra Gita, 5.1). Like bubbles in the sea, all the worlds arise in you. Know you are Self. Know that you are one. Let yourself dissolve (Ashtavakra Gita, 5.2). You are one and the same in joy and sorrow, hope and despair, and life and death. You are already fulfilled. Let yourself dissolve (Ashtavakra Gita, 5.4). The man who is wise knows himself in all things and all things in himself. Yet he still says, "This is mine” (Ashtavakra Gita, 3.5). The wise man knows Self, and he plays the game of life. But the fool lives in the world like a beast of burden (Ashtavakra Gita, 4.1).You are the endless sea. In whom all the worlds, like waves, naturally rise and fall. You have nothing to win, nothing to lose (Ashtavakra Gita, 15.11). I am the ocean. All the worlds are like waves. This is the truth. There is nothing to cling to, nothing to relinquish, and nothing to dissolve (Ashtavakra Gita, 6.2). When the mind is attracted to anything it senses, you are bound. When there is no attraction, you are free (Ashtavakra Gita, 8.3). All things arise, suffer change, and pass away. This is their nature. When you know this, nothing perturbs you; nothing hurts you. You become still. It is easy (Ashtavakra Gita, 11.1). God made all things. There is only God. When you know this, desire melts away. Clinging to nothing, you become still (Ashtavakra Gita, 11.2).

 -Asutosh Satpathy